Maria Ines C. G. is married and is 31 years old. She has a middle school education, and has 4 children who are in elementary and middle school. Maria takes care of the household chores and also has a store where she sells everyday consumer goods. She has had this business for 8 years; she started it with the help of her husband, who works as a blacksmith and a merchant.

She wants to expand her business, and for this reason she came to ASDIR to request a loan that she will use to buy more merchandise and have more products in her store, such as: canned beans, soft drinks in cans and bottles, candy, juice, sugar, etc. The other members of the group have businesses selling tortillas, vehicle parts, ice cream, cosmetics, and shoes, and some members work making skirts and blouses. They want to see their businesses grow and have more capital.

Additional Information

About Asociación ASDIR

ASDIR (Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Rural - Association for the Development of Rural Communities) is a community-based organization that works to promote development in the villages and communities where it serves. It was founded in 1999 in the village of Nimasac, Totonicapán Department, by a handful of local men and women to support community projects and group loans. Today ASDIR has 5 offices across 3 departments (Totonicapán, Sololá and Suchitepéquez) serving more than 6,000 clients, most of them in rural communities.

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.